Despite late start, strawberries at Annie's Acres growing strong

This spring's colder weather delayed this year's strawberry season -- but many are saying the quality of this year's strawberries has not diminished.

JACKSON COUNTY (KWWL) -

This spring's colder weather delayed this year's strawberry season -- but many are saying the quality of this year's strawberries has not diminished.

It was a busy Sunday at Annie's Acres in Jackson County, as many made their way through the strawberry patches.

Ann Kendell is the owner of Annie's Acres, a destination for many fresh strawberry enthusiasts.

"Our berries are not organic, but they are safe to eat out of the fields," Kendell said. "So you can just sit out here and munch away if you wanted to."

Annie's Acres has been open since 1987. It's a place customers can buy pre-picked fresh strawberries or pick their own.

Through the years, Kendell says she has seen a slight decrease in the amount of customers who pick their own strawberries.

"I would say in our earlier years we had more pick-your-own business," she said. "We were a smaller patch at that time, and as we have grown we have had a lot more employees come and pick to sell outside the farm."

Emily Kress and her family made their way around Annie's Acres Sunday afternoon. It was Kress's second time at Annie's Acres. She was picking some strawberries to tuck inside her freezer for the winter.

"I'm out here just picking some strawberries so we can freeze some, so we can have some for the wintertime and then also to make some pies and things like that." Kress said.

It's the berries' fresh taste that Kendell says is one-of-a-kind.

"The biggest difference is taste," she said. "You will find that these berries are very sweet and juicy. They make better jam (and) preserves than the berries you would buy in a store."

Despite the colder spring and later start to the season, Ann Kendell says it's still a good, profitable season.